Colleges And Universities

Amid chants and cheers, a group including clergy, unions and a university president rallied Wednesday in support of Maryland's law to give tuition breaks to illegal immigrants. "Vote yes for education! Vote yes for Maryland students!" yelled Karina, a 22-year-old illegal immigrant from Montgomery County who wants to attend college at the discounted in-state rate. The coalition wants to uphold the Maryland Dream Act, a controversial 2011 law that would let some illegal immigrants pay the lower in-state tuition rate at the state's colleges and universities.

Baltimore is brainy. And that's a good thing - nerds come out ahead. A study released recently by the Brookings Institution ranks metro areas by number of college graduates, and the Baltimore-Towson area comes in 14th, with 35 percent of adults holding college degrees. A New York Times story about the study describes a "growing divide among American cities, in which a small number of metro areas vacuum up a large number of college graduates" and notes that areas with more college graduates have longer life expectancies, higher incomes and fewer single-parent families, which result in higher regional incomes - and tax bases.

Regarding your recent editorial about the lawsuit over funding for Maryland's historically black colleges and universities, I thought that the purpose of these schools was to provide an education to those who were denied the opportunity to attend Maryland's traditionally white schools because of their race ("A troubled legacy," Jan. 9). Now that admission to any state university is no longer denied based on race, religion or sex, I fail to see the need for these black colleges and universities.

Has Maryland reneged on its promise to desegregate the state's public institutions of higher learning? Has the state, in defiance of the law, continued to operate a dual system of separate and unequal schools based on race? The answer to such questions will decide the outcome of a potentially historic case that opened last week pitting the state's four historically black colleges and universities against the Maryland Higher Education Commission. At issue is whether the state has truly succeeded in overcoming the shameful legacy of its segregated past, or whether it has simply extended the policies and practices of that era into the present under a different guise.

The trial date in a five-year-old civil lawsuit claiming bias against Maryland's historically black state colleges and universities has been postponed until December, so the parties can attempt to mediate the case. "The issues at stake in this case are of concern not just to the parties but to the entire community," U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake wrote in a memorandum opinion issued late last month. "Better results often can be obtained, and can be more quickly obtained, through mediation rather than through trial.

Brendan Timothy Sullivan, a college student who enjoyed sports and music, died Monday of a cardiac arrest at his Marriottsville home. He was 19. Mr. Sullivan was born in Silver Spring and spent his early years in Hyattsville before moving to Marriottsville in 1999. He was a 2008 graduate of West Nottingham Academy in Colora, where the 6-foot-9-inch player was the varsity basketball team's center. His athletic prowess earned him the school's Best Male Athlete Award. At the time of his death, Mr. Sullivan was studying business at Howard Community College and the University of Phoenix.

The tragic death of University of Virginia student Yeardley Love last Monday ought to be a wake-up call to the nation's colleges and universities not only of the peril of violence on campus but of the alcohol abuse that helps fuel it. George Huguely, the former boyfriend charged with her murder, has a history of public intoxication and incidents of violent behavior. That both victim and alleged perpetrator are Marylanders — raised in the seemingly protective shelter of affluence, private schools and lacrosse fields — has made the episode all the more chilling.

The president of Anne Arundel Community College has announced ambitious plans to double the number of students earning degrees, certificates or industry-recognized certifications in the next decade. Martha A. Smith announced the plan, called "Student Success 2020," Tuesday afternoon at a gathering at the college's Arnold campus, which state and national education officials attended. Smith said the initiative to double the number of graduating students by 2020 includes an examination and possible overhaul of the college's programs and functions, close tracking of students' progress in order to better offer support services and mentorships, and an increase in scholarships.

B y now the dangers of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke are so well established that hardly anyone disputes the risks they pose to public health and well-being. Every year some 390,000 Americans die from smoking-related illnesses, and tobacco contributes to 1 out of every 6 deaths annually in this country. That's why we applaud Towson University's decision last week to ban smoking everywhere on its campus. We only wonder why it took the university this long to take a step that so obviously benefits its students and the entire school community.